Screen comparison

Sony is among the first to bring a FullHD smartphone to market and made a big deal about mobile BRAVIA 2 engine that enhances the image quality. HTC didn't boast as much about its Super LCD3 technology but we can safely say that it speaks loudly for itself and we loved seeing it for the first time on the Butterfly and DROID DNA.

First, let's get the technical side of things out of the way for a moment. The HTC One sports a 4.7" Super LCD3 panel of 1080 x 1920 pixel resolution, resulting in the insanely-high 469 ppi density. The Xperia Z spreads the same resolution over a 5" diagonal and boasts 441 ppi. The difference in numbers is minor and downright impossible to detect in real-life usage. Both phones utilize conventional RGB matrices and are as sharp as it gets - you will need a microscope to tell them appart.

HTC One and Sony Xperia Z screens up close

The studio shots don't reveal as much as tables and charts do but you can still check out the Xperia Z next to a couple of HTC 1080p smartphones.

The HTC One vs Sony Xperia Z screens

When it comes to image quality, the Super LCD3 on the HTC One is clearly superior to the TFT of the Xperia Z. The One offers excellent contrast instead of the mediocre figure achieved by the Sony smartphone and has nicely saturated colors, too. Viewing angles are also immense on the HTC flagship and rather disappointing on the Xperia Z, so it's no contest here.

As you can see from the table below, the HTC One is brighter than the Xperia Z and among the brightest panels we've tested.

Display test

50% brightness

100% brightness

Black, cd/m2

White, cd/m2

Contrast ratio

Black, cd/m2

White, cd/m2

Contrast ratio

HTC One

0.13

205

1580

0.42

647

1541

HTC Butterfly

0.14

173

1200

0.45

501

1104

Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4

0

201

∞

0

404

∞

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III

0

174

∞

0

330

∞

Sony Xperia Z

-

-

-

0.70

492

705

Oppo Find 5

0.17

176

1123

0.51

565

1107

Samsung N7100 Galaxy Note II

0

215

∞

0

402

∞

LG Optimus G Pro

-

-

-

0.41

611

1489

Nokia Lumia 920

-

-

-

0.48

513

1065

LG Optimus G

0.14

197

1445

0.33

417

1438

Apple iPhone 5

0.13

200

1490

0.48

640

1320

In terms of sunlight legibility both phones are equally matched with the less reflective panel of the Xperia Z making up for its lower brightness.

Sunlight contrast ratio

Nokia 808 PureView4.698

Apple iPhone 53.997

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III3.419

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S43.352

Samsung Omnia W3.301

Samsung Galaxy S3.155

Nokia N93.069

Samsung Galaxy Note2.970

HTC One S2.901

Samsung Galaxy S II2.832

Samsung Galaxy S II Plus2.801

Huawei Ascend P12.655

Nokia Lumia 9002.562

HTC One2.504

Sony Xperia Z2.462

Samsung Galaxy S III mini2.422

Motorola RAZR i2.366

Samsung Galaxy Note II2.307

Apple iPhone 4S2.269

HTC One X2.158

Nokia N82.144

Oppo Find 52.088

BlackBerry Z102.051

Apple iPhone 42.016

Sony Ericsson Xperia ray1.955

Samsung Galaxy Camera1.938

HTC Butterfly1.873

Sony Xperia V1.792

Sony Xperia U1.758

LG Optimus 4X HD1.691

HTC One V1.685

LG Optimus Vu1.680

HTC Desire V1.646

LG Optimus G Pro1.552

LG Optimus 3D1.542

Nokia Asha 3021.537

Nokia Lumia 6101.432

Gigabyte GSmart G13551.361

HTC Desire C1.300

LG Optimus L71.269

LG Optimus L91.227

Meizu MX1.221

Sony Xperia E dual1.203

Samsung Galaxy Pocket1.180

Sony Xperia tipo1.166

Samsung Galaxy mini 21.114

Winner: HTC One. While both devices offer overall excellent screens that are great for consuming multimedia on the go, the HTC One clearly has the upper hand. All the Sony Xperia Z has on its side is slightly larger size and the Mobile BRAVIA 2 engine, which while doing a good job, can't quite make up for the deficiencies of its sub-par display panel.

Battery life

Our two contenders are evenly matched in terms of battery backup. The HTC One draws its power from a 2300 mAh Li-Polymer battery while the Sony Xperia Z uses a 2330 mAh Li-Ion unit.

HTC has designed a Power Saver mode, which switches the device's radios while in stand-by and can tone down CPU consumption but is no match for Sony's more complex Stamina Mode. The Sony smartphone not only gives you the usual options, but allows you to choose which apps get access to background tasks and notifications while in stand-by. We found that enabling the Xperia Z Stamina mode makes notable difference to stand-by efficiency, whereas the Power Saver on the HTC One barely affected the endurance.

Then there are chipsets to consider. The Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro has four Krait cores clocked at 1.5 GHz while the newer Snapdragon 600 in the HTC One uses four of the newer Krait 300 cores clocked at 1.7 GHz.

So let's get down to it. We start off with talk time - a phone's bread and butter. The HTC One achieved an impressive 13 hours and 38 minutes, but was no match for the Xperia Z with its incredible 16 hours and 3 minutes. While the difference is impressive it's safe to say that both phones did great in this trial .

Talk time

Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS)21:18

LG Optimus G Pro20:45

Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX20:24

Motorola RAZR i20:07

Samsung Galaxy Note II N710016:57

Sony Xperia Z16:03

LG Optimus G15:30

Nokia Lumia 62014:17

Oppo Find 514:17

Google Nexus 414:17

Samsung Galaxy S413:53

HTC One13:38

HTC One X+13:31

Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos12:45

Huawei Ascend P112:30

HTC Butterfly12:18

Samsung Galaxy Note12:14

Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam11:58

Samsung Galaxy Premier11:30

Asus Padfone 211:20

HTC Droid DNA11:07

HTC Windows Phone 8X11:07

Samsung Wave 3 S860011:07

Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus11:06

HTC Desire X11:03

HTC One X (AT&T, LTE)10:35

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III10:20

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB)10:15

Samsung Galaxy Xcover 210:03

HTC One V10:00

Meizu MX 4-core10:00

Samsung Galaxy Express10:00

HTC One X9:57

HTC One S9:42

Samsung I9103 Galaxy R9:40

HTC Sensation XL9:30

Nokia Lumia 8109:05

Nokia Lumia 7109:05

Acer CloudMobile S5009:05

Motorola Atrix HD9:04

HTC Vivid9:02

Nokia Lumia 9208:56

Nokia Lumia 6108:51

HTC Rhyme8:48

Apple iPhone 58:42

LG Optimus 3D Max P7208:42

Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V8:41

Meizu MX8:39

Samsung Galaxy S II8:35

Samsung Galaxy S Duos8:28

Nokia Lumia 8008:25

Samsung Galaxy Nexus8:23

Nokia Lumia 5108:22

BlackBerry Z108:20

HTC Desire V8:20

Samsung Captivate Glide8:20

Sony Xperia T8:15

HTC Rezound (LTE)8:10

Samsung Galaxy Note (LTE)8:02

LG Optimus Vu7:57

LG Optimus 4X HD7:41

Apple iPhone 4S7:41

Samsung i937 Focus S7:25

HTC Evo 4G LTE (LTE)7:21

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G7:14

Nokia Lumia 8207:09

Sony Xperia acro S7:09

Samsung Rugby Smart I8477:09

Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro6:57

Nokia N96:57

HTC Radar6:53

Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos6:53

BlackBerry Curve 93806:52

Sony Xperia E dual6:42

Samsung Galaxy S III mini6:22

Samsung Galaxy Pocket5:54

Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T (LTE)5:53

Sony Xperia ion LTE5:52

Sony Xperia P5:33

Nokia 808 PureView5:16

LG Nitro HD (LTE)5:16

HTC Titan II (LTE)5:10

BlackBerry Bold 97905:00

Pantech Burst4:46

The Web browsing differed quite significantly, though. The HTC One came on top of our chart here with the amazing 9h and 58 minutes of browsing endurance on a single charge. The Xperia Z got only an average 6h 37m score here and came far behind its competitor.

Web browsing

HTC One9:58

Apple iPhone 59:56

Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS)9:12

Apple iPad mini9:05

Samsung Galaxy Note II N71008:48

Samsung Galaxy S48:42

Nokia Lumia 8108:20

Asus Padfone 28:20

Nokia Lumia 6108:01

HTC One X+7:56

Sony Xperia E dual7:42

Samsung Galaxy S III mini7:38

Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX7:23

HTC Radar7:17

Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos7:09

Samsung Galaxy Express7:09

Motorola RAZR i7:06

Apple iPhone 4S6:56

HTC One V6:49

LG Optimus G Pro6:40

Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus6:40

HTC Droid DNA6:40

Samsung Galaxy Premier6:40

Motorola Atrix HD6:40

BlackBerry Curve 93806:40

Sony Xperia Z6:37

Samsung Galaxy Xcover 26:35

BlackBerry Z106:27

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB)6:27

HTC Butterfly6:24

Samsung i937 Focus S6:15

Nokia Lumia 5106:13

HTC Windows Phone 8X6:01

Sony Xperia ion LTE5:56

Samsung Rugby Smart I8475:53

Pantech Burst5:51

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G5:45

HTC Desire V5:44

HTC Evo 4G LTE5:41

Nokia Lumia 9205:40

Samsung Wave 3 S86005:34

Oppo Find 55:33

Sony Xperia T5:33

Samsung Captivate Glide5:33

Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam5:28

Samsung Galaxy Note LTE5:24

Samsung Galaxy S Duos5:23

HTC Sensation XL5:20

Meizu MX 4-core5:19

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III5:17

Sony Xperia acro S5:16

HTC Rezound5:16

HTC Desire X5:16

LG Optimus G5:15

HTC Rhyme5:08

Samsung I9103 Galaxy R5:07

HTC One X (AT&T)5:03

Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro4:50

LG Optimus Vu4:49

HTC Vivid4:46

Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos4:45

Meizu MX4:35

Google Nexus 44:34

Nokia N94:33

Acer CloudMobile S5004:32

Nokia Lumia 8204:24

Samsung Galaxy S II4:24

Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V4:20

HTC One X4:18

Nokia 808 PureView4:14

LG Optimus 3D Max P7204:10

Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T4:10

Nokia Lumia 8004:07

HTC Titan II (LTE)4:05

HTC One S4:03

BlackBerry Bold 97904:02

LG Nitro HD4:00

LG Optimus 4X HD3:59

Sony Xperia P3:59

Nokia Lumia 7103:51

Nokia Lumia 6203:50

Samsung Galaxy Pocket3:47

Samsung Galaxy Note3:35

Huawei Ascend P13:23

Samsung Galaxy Nexus3:01

The video playback endurance told a similar story. The HTC One again achieved a great score, just exceeding the 10 hour mark, while the Xperia Z died at about half-wait point - 5h 39min.

Video playback

Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS)16:35

Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX14:17

Apple iPad mini12:51

Samsung Galaxy Premier12:51

Samsung Galaxy Note II N710011:27

Samsung Galaxy S410:16

Apple iPhone 510:12

HTC One10:02

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III10:01

Samsung Galaxy Express10:00

Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus10:00

Nokia 808 PureView9:53

Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam9:42

Samsung Rugby Smart I8479:34

HTC One S9:28

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB)9:27

Apple iPhone 4S9:24

HTC Evo 4G LTE9:07

BlackBerry Z108:44

LG Optimus G Pro8:40

Nokia N98:40

HTC Butterfly8:28

Samsung Galaxy Note8:25

Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos8:11

HTC One X+8:11

Motorola RAZR i8:11

Samsung Galaxy S II8:00

Samsung i937 Focus S7:55

Samsung Wave 3 S86007:52

Samsung Galaxy S III mini7:46

Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V7:45

Asus Padfone 27:38

Huawei Ascend P17:38

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G7:33

HTC Droid DNA7:30

Samsung Galaxy Note LTE7:30

Samsung Galaxy Xcover 27:30

Nokia Lumia 6107:23

LG Optimus G7:16

Meizu MX 4-core6:33

Nokia Lumia 6206:32

HTC Windows Phone 8X6:27

Sony Xperia E dual6:27

Nokia Lumia 8106:27

HTC Desire V6:26

HTC One X (AT&T)6:26

Nokia Lumia 8206:25

Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos6:25

Nokia Lumia 5106:23

LG Optimus Vu6:23

Samsung I9103 Galaxy R6:21

Nokia Lumia 9206:19

HTC Sensation XL6:12

Samsung Galaxy Pocket6:06

Samsung Captivate Glide6:04

Sony Xperia ion LTE6:03

Samsung Galaxy Nexus6:02

Sony Xperia T6:01

Motorola Atrix HD6:01

HTC Vivid6:00

HTC Radar5:54

Nokia Lumia 8005:52

HTC Titan II5:50

BlackBerry Bold 97905:47

HTC One X5:45

Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro5:44

Sony Xperia Z5:39

Sony Xperia acro S5:38

HTC Desire X5:38

Pantech Burst5:38

Meizu MX5:27

HTC Rhyme5:23

HTC One V5:20

Acer CloudMobile S5005:18

Oppo Find 55:18

Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T5:18

BlackBerry Curve 93805:09

HTC Rezound5:03

Google Nexus 44:55

Samsung Galaxy S Duos4:30

Sony Xperia P4:30

LG Nitro HD4:17

LG Optimus 4X HD4:14

LG Optimus 3D Max P7203:28

Nokia Lumia 7103:27

Despite the early setback the HTC One was able to easily outdo the Sony Xperia Z in the overall tests. The web browsing endurance of the HTC flagship was particularly impressive and the video playback was easily in the upper half of our charts too. The Sony Xperia Z was off to a promising start, but once the challenges that involved operating the screen started slid down to mediocre levels.

However, the battery challenge isn't over until the stand-by efficiency is factored in and we were in for another surprise. The HTC One had high battery drain when in idle mode, whereas the Xperia Z did quite well and the final result came perfectly even at 48 h. This means that if you do an hour of calls, browsing and watching video each day you'd need to charge either of those smartphones every 48 hours.

Winner: HTC One. As we see it those flagship devices are most likely to end up in the hands of power users and they won't give them much rest. And as the individual tests showed, the HTC One is simply more efficient when in use.